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#BookReview The Last Summer by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheLastSummer #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks

When the residents of St Kilda ask to be evacuated from their remote island home in the summer of 1930, it’s in search of a better life on mainland Scotland compared to the scratch existence on their mountain in the sea.

For eighteen-year-old tomboy Effie Gillies, it’s a bittersweet departure. She’s the best young climber on the island, as skilled and brave as any of the men. But it is Effie’s expansive knowledge of local bird life that leads her to take up a position as curator of Dumfries House’s ornithological collection – and back into the arms of Lord Dumfries’ son and heir, Sholto.

During her last summer on St Kilda, Effie had been Sholto’s guide, and their attraction had seemed irresistible. But, in the glamorous polite society of Ayrshire, it is clear they are worlds apart. When a body is discovered on the island, soon after the evacuation, a scandal erupts as Effie is implicated. Sholto knows she’s keeping secrets – but are they even her own?

The Last Summer is the first in an epic, sweeping historical series by Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan, set in and around the Scottish island of St Kilda.

Enthralling, mysterious, and romantic!

The Last Summer is an absorbing tale that sweeps you away to 1930 and into the life of Effie Gillies, an eighteen-year-old girl who, along with her family and closest friends, is one of thirty-six inhabitants of the isolated St. Kilda archipelago who is content with her isolated existence, living a simple life amongst the birds and the cliffs, until things start to get a little more complicated and she falls for a man way above her station, the government decides to evacuate the island villagers to the mainland, she takes on a new job curating the ornithological collection of Lord Dumfries, the father of the man who stole her heart, and the deserted island is left with more than just empty dwellings and whispered secrets, but the body of a man who wasn’t all that kind or liked and had more than one person who wished him dead.

The writing is eloquent and vivid. The characters are hardy, resilient, and brave. And the plot is an alluring tale of life, loss, family, friendship, community, intrigue, mystery, drama, expectations, angst, social division, heartbreak, and love.

Overall, The Last Summer is a beautifully written, incredibly atmospheric, brilliant start to a new series by Swan that I absolutely devoured, highly recommend, and is hands down one of my favourite reads of the year.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest outside Sussex, England, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.

An internationally bestselling author, her numerous books include The Rome Affair, The Paris Secret, Christmas Under the Stars, and The Christmas Secret.

Photograph by Alexander James

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1 Comment on #BookReview The Last Summer by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheLastSummer #TheWildIsleSeries #KarenSwan #PGCBooks

Wonderful review, Zoe. This sounds like a wonderful summer story.

‘Last Summer’ Review: A Shocking Affair to Remember

Few directors get as deeply under the skin as Catherine Breillat, a longtime provocateur who tests the limits of what the world thinks women should do and say and be.

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A teenage boy and a woman lie on a blanket on the grass.

By Manohla Dargis

When Anne, the elegant, enigmatic protagonist in Catherine Breillat’s “Last Summer,” walks in a room, she holds your gaze as formidably as she holds those of everyone in this startling, perverse French movie. A lawyer, wife, mother and sister, Anne likes sheath dresses and high heels, tasteful antiques and a sense of order. She’s serenely self-possessed, and everything in her life is just so, which suggests that she’s either invincible or waiting to break. Both are in play when she abandons herself in a shocking, recklessly consuming affair.

Few directors get as deeply under the skin as Breillat, a longtime, reliably interesting provocateur who tests the limits of what the world thinks women should do and say and be. Breillat is interested in complexity, not orthodoxy (feminist or otherwise), in autonomy and subjugation, and in all the ways that pleasure and desire can take violent hold of minds and bodies. She was in her 20s when she directed her first feature, “ A Real Young Girl ” (1976), about a teenager’s sexual coming-of-age. It’s a messy, jolting movie; there aren’t many filmmakers who shock you like Breillat does and with such supremely natural ease.

Anne, played by a superb Léa Drucker, seems wholly satisfied in her world. She and her loving, attentive husband, Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin), have two sweet girls, and live in a large, handsome suburban home. She’s close to her sister, Mina (Clotilde Courau), and Anne’s work seems satisfying and perhaps even important: She advocates for victims of sexual abuse and in cases involving parental custodianship. Outwardly, her life looks ideal, if maybe overly comfortable, and its frictionless surfaces — especially in a French movie about upper-class people — seem primed for disruption. Even so, nothing about her suggests that she will soon lose herself in an affair with her 17-year-old stepson, Théo (Samuel Kircher).

When “Last Summer" opens, Théo is living with his mother and has just been arrested. Pierre has decided to bring his son back home with him, a decision he explains to Anne while the couple are in their bedroom, an intimate setting that is as meaningful as it is banal. As Pierre hurriedly packs his bag, Breillat discreetly pushes the camera closer to him as he and an offscreen Anne talk. The scene is brief, and seemingly purely informational. Yet right after Pierre says that Théo punched a teacher, Breillat cuts to Anne who’s busily changing her clothes. Her dress is hiked over her face, exposing her trim body and pretty bra.

Within minutes, Breillat has introduced both her characters and their world with brisk narrative economy and a sly, telegraphing conflation of sex and violence: the bedroom, the couple, the son, the punch, the lingerie. The movie has scarcely begun yet everything, including the complacency and first stirrings of trouble, is in place. These stirrings abruptly turn into klaxons when Théo arrives shortly thereafter, and Anne goes to speak to him. The moment that he appears onscreen — he’s on the bed in his room, his messy dark curls cascading over his face — it’s clear that he is this movie’s version of Chekhov’s gun.

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Review: The Last Summer by Karen Swan

July 29, 2022
Roelia Reads

About the Book

(from Pan MacMillan SA )

Summer on St Kilda – a wild, remote Scottish island.

Two strangers from drastically different worlds meet . . .

Wild-spirited Effie Gillies has lived all her life on the small island of St Kilda but when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young visitor around the isle, falling in love for the first time – until a storm hits and her world falls apart.

Three months later, St Kilda falls silent as the islanders are evacuated for a better life on the mainland. With her friends and family scattered, Effie is surprised to be offered a position working on the Earl’s estate. Sholto is back in her life but their differences now seem insurmountable, even as the simmering tension between them grows. And when a shocking discovery is made back on St Kilda, all her dreams for this bright new life are threatened by the dark secrets Effie and her friends thought they had left behind.

Opposites attract in this epic and spellbinding novel, which transports us from the untamed beauty of St Kilda to the glamour and intrigues of high society in the 1930s. The Last Summer is the first book in The Wild Isle series by Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan, inspired by the true history of St Kilda and its small island community.”

My Thoughts:

The first thing I did was to Google “ St Kilda ” to get an idea of the setting of “The Last Summer”. I found the history of this island quite interesting, and as a fan of historical fiction I love the fact that you always end up learning a bit more than what you expected. That bit of a visual idea was extremely useful in setting the scene for this book – which is rumoured to be the first in a series of three or is it five?

Yes, that is commitment – and I’m ready for it. All 400 pages of it, which also makes “The Last Summer” the longest book I’ve read this year to date. I will check my facts on that one.

Karen Swan’s descriptive writing takes you right to the period (Scotland in the 1930s). Her attention to detail speaks of meticulous research and a passion for (accurate) story telling.

We get to know Effie as a bit of a “wild child”, living on the isolated St Kilda where there are very few/no “modern” conveniences and where physical agility and strength is needed for day-to-day survival. The spunky and strong-willed Effie catches the eye of Lord Sholto during a visit to St Kilda with his father, the Earl of Dumfries. They come from two different worlds though, so this looks to be a doomed relationship.

Effie’s life changes drastically a few months later, when all the residents of her beloved St Kilda are forced to relocate to the “mainland”, leaving the only place she’s ever known behind. How will she and the other island residents adapt to this new way of living? She is offered a job by the Earl of Dumfries, but how will it be to see Lord Sholto again, in his “proper” social standing?

To add even more complexity to the situation, the body of a man is found on the island.

I was drawn in right from the start! It seems as if I’m on a bit of a roll when it comes to historical fiction, especially when it features a strong female lead who challenges the norm and the idea of “suitable” roles for women. The cliff hanger ending had me stumped! How long do we have to wait for the 2nd book in the series Karen??

Trigger warnings: animal deaths & sexual harassment

RRR (Roelia Reads Rating) 4/5

Thank you to publisher, Pan MacMillan, for this review copy

About the author: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/karen-swan/6006

Also read my review of the next book in this series What I Read: The Stolen Hours by Karen Swan

What I Read: Murder Your Employer (The McMasters Guide to Homicide) by Rupert Holmes

Island in the Sun by Katie Fforde

Review Snippet: The Match by Harlan Coben

The Last Summer by Karen Swan – Book Review

7 August 2022 by Dee Young Leave a Comment

The Last Summer by Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Swan, is the first novel in her new historical series, which is set in and around the Scottish island of St Kilda.

In 1930, hoping for a better life than their present existence on the mountain island of St Kilda, the residents are being evacuated to mainland Scotland.

For eighteen-year-old Effie Gillies it is a time of trepidation. She has proved herself the best climber on the island, much more skilled than any man. She longs to stay and study the rare array of bird life that seasonally breeds on the rugged cliffs.

That last summer Effie had acted as guide to the Lord Dumfries’ son, Sholto, taking him rock-climbing and pointing out nesting sites on the island.

They had become close as a result – perhaps too close!

After evacuating the island with her aged father, Effie is offered a position as curator of Dumfries House’s ornithological collection due to her extensive knowledge.

Worlds apart socially, Sholto and Effie realise their attraction for each other must end.

As the island is being finally evacuated a body is discovered and, as the case is investigated, it seems that Effie is implicated, and Sholto knows she’s been keeping secrets.

Will she face the ultimate punishment and lose all that she has fought for?

Apart from the individual characters, the dead body and ensuing investigations, this wonderfully descriptive novel is based on the true story of the last of the St Kildans, who were evacuated on 29 August 1930 aboard the HMS Harebell.

The decision to evacuate the island archipelago was taken because life there was becoming untenable. Traditional livelihoods of raising sheep for wool, spinning and weaving tweed, fishing, and harvesting of seabird eggs and oil, were becoming much harder to sustain.

Once on the mainland, they needed to find work and a place to live. Some were more fortunate than others. Many went on to work in forestry with islanders impressing with their semaphore abilities and climbing skills.

The descriptive skills of the author are true to life and interwoven with the fictitious intrigue of the relationships between the characters and the outcome of the mystery of the dead body.

The Last Summer is another wonderful novel from the highly popular author that will pull at the heartstrings while taking the reader on a suspenseful ride over rugged land, and unpredictable sea, until the very end.

ISBN: 9781529084375 The Last Summer is available in paperback and e-book

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan is the Sunday Times top three bestselling author of twenty-one books and her novels sell all over the world. She writes two books each year – one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Previous summer titles include The Spanish Promise, The Hidden Beach and The Secret Path and, for winter, The Christmas Secret, Together by Christmas and Midnight in the Snow Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots. She is writing a five-book historical series called The Wild Isles, based on the dramatic evacuation of Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.

Reader Interactions

The Last Summer

A dramatic start to a gripping new series set on the Scottish island of St Kilda. The Last Summer is meticulously researched and beautifully told by one of our most prolific and talented writers. It contains all the ingredients of a wonderfully satisfying read: love, passion, drama, violence, menace and peril, and characters you fall in love with - and some you hate! Happily, this is the start of a series so your longing for more will be fulfilled. Santa Montefiore, author of An Italian Girl in Brooklyn

This sweeping love story gripped us from the start, so we can’t wait for the next in the series. Best historical romance of 2022 Independent

I so enjoyed The Last Summer by Karen Swan, which provides fascinating details about life on St Kilda prior to the evacuation of its inhabitants from the island. Powerful writing and a wonderful premise make this a novel you’ll simultaneously want to savour and race through. I loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series! Jill Mansell, author of Should I Tell You?

The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I’ve ever read. I truly loved it and am waiting feverishly for the second installment. Cathy Bramley, author of The Summer That Changed Us

More from the ' The Wild Isle Series ' series

The Stolen Hours

The Lost Lover

The Hidden Heart

Books by karen swan.

All I Want for Christmas

The Last Summer (Quick Reads)

Christmas By Candlelight

The Christmas Postcards

The Paris Secret

Midnight in the Snow

The Secret Path

Together by Christmas

The Hidden Beach

The Christmas Party

The Spanish Promise

The Christmas Lights

The Greek Escape

The Christmas Secret

The Rome Affair

Christmas Under the Stars

Christmas on Primrose Hill

Summer at Tiffany's

Christmas in the Snow

The Summer Without You

Christmas at Claridge's

Prima Donna

The Perfect Present

Christmas at Tiffany's

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The Last Summer: The Wild Isle, Book One

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The Last Summer: The Wild Isle, Book One Paperback – May 2 2022

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Book 1 of 4 The Wild Isle
Print length 496 pages
Language English
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Publication date May 2 2022
Dimensions 15.29 x 3.81 x 23.39 cm
ISBN-10 1529084377
ISBN-13 978-1529084375
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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pan Macmillan (May 2 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1529084377
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529084375
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 666 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.29 x 3.81 x 23.39 cm
#895 in Scottish Historical Romance (Books)
#1,231 in 20th Century Historical Romance (Books)
#15,326 in Women's Fiction (Books)

About the author

Karen Swan is the Sunday Times Top Three and international best-selling author. Her novels sell all over the world and she writes two books each year - one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.

The Last Summer is the first book in her five-book historical series called The Wild Isle Girls, set around the dramatic evacuation of the Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930. It was partly inspired by Karen’s Scottish roots: her father’s family came from Skye, moving to Fort William where Karen was christened and where many of her family still live. Her childhood memories are full of Christmases, Hogmanay and summer holidays spent in the Highlands and she was married there in 2001.

She lives in Sussex with her husband, three children and two dogs.

Visit Karen's author page on Instagram @swannywrites, Facebook, and Twitter @KarenSwan1.

Customer reviews

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The Last Summer (1) Hardcover – August 1, 2022

Book 1 of 4 The Wild Isle
Print length 400 pages
Language English
Publisher Macmillan UK
Publication date August 1, 2022
Dimensions 6.02 x 1.7 x 9.21 inches
ISBN-10 1529084369
ISBN-13 978-1529084368
See all details

Editorial Reviews

About the author.

Karen Swan is the Sunday Times top three bestselling author of twenty books and her novels sell all over the world. She writes two books each year – one for the summer period and one for the Christmas season. Previous winter titles include Christmas at Tiffany’s , The Christmas Secret and The Christmas Lights , and for summer, The Rome Affair , The Greek Escape and The Spanish Promise . Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisty plots, sometimes telling two stories in the same book.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan UK (August 1, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1529084369
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529084368
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.02 x 1.7 x 9.21 inches
#1,303 in Scottish Historical Romance (Books)

About the author

She lives in Sussex with her husband, three children and two dogs.

Visit Karen's author page on Instagram @swannywrites, Facebook, and Twitter @KarenSwan1.

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The last summer.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 3 Reviews
Kids Say 11 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

So-so teen romcom has cursing, alcohol, sex.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Teens consume beer in multiple party scenes and consume hard liquor in a bar. An

Kissing, sexual activity shot delicately -- head shots, kissing, bare shoulders,

Profanity includes "blow him," "penis," "crap," "bulls--t," "boobs," "boner," "b

Vicodin. Lem's and Smoque's -- both Chicago barbeque restaurants.

Any Positive Content?

Promotes working hard to reach goals and not settling for expectations of others

Two lead characters value integrity and are motivated, smart, supportive of othe

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Teens consume beer in multiple party scenes and consume hard liquor in a bar. An adult is drunk. A parent is heavily under the influence of Vicodin.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Kissing, sexual activity shot delicately -- head shots, kissing, bare shoulders, post-sex cuddling. Other sexual situations include an eager playboy on the make, adult infidelity, two male teens having sex for the first time with adult women. Skimpy bathing suits, sexual conversation, references to condoms and breast augmentation.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Profanity includes "blow him," "penis," "crap," "bulls--t," "boobs," "boner," "butt-ass naked," "douche bag," and one instance of "f--k."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Positive messages.

Promotes working hard to reach goals and not settling for expectations of others. Values honesty, open communication, forgiveness, self-confidence.

Positive Role Models

Two lead characters value integrity and are motivated, smart, supportive of others, appreciative of what they have. He makes mistakes, attempts to correct them; she learns about forgiveness. Other characters are either solid, positive role models (i.e., Alec, Audrey) or en route to finding their better selves. Some comic stereotyping (ditzy rich airhead, playboy, religious girl, nerdy boys). Ethnic diversity throughout.

Parents need to know that The Last Summer is a Netflix teen romantic comedy. A group of graduating high school seniors have life-changing experiences during their "last" summer before moving on to college and/or the rest of their lives. The two lead characters are a budding filmmaker and a musician. Connected by friendships, others in the crew have tales to tell as well. Romance and sexuality (including "first times") are integral to their stories. While there's no nudity, there is revealing clothing (bikinis) and lots of sexual conversation (condoms, infidelity). Characters kiss, embrace, and engage in foreplay in one intimate scene (shown in head shots, with bare shoulders). Other sexual activity is implied rather than explicit. Viewers can expect swearing, including "butt-ass naked," "s--t," "boner," "crap," "blow me," "penis," and one use of "f--k." Underage drinking (beer) occurs at numerous parties. In one instance, an adult is drunk; in another, a parent is heavily under the influence of Vicodin. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (3)
Kids say (11)

Based on 3 parent reviews

Do you remember "Singles" from the 90's .... with the great soundtrack?

What's the story.

Griffin (KJ Apa ) and Phoebe ( Maia Mitchell ) fall in love in THE LAST SUMMER. Though Phoebe wants to focus on making a short film that will help her earn a scholarship, Griffin is smitten and persistent. It's a good thing, until family issues threaten to mess up their relationship. In other intercut stories: Alec ( Jacob Latimore ) and Erin ( Halston Sage ), hoping to make their college separation less painful, decide to break up early, with mixed results. Two geeky, socially inept graduates, Reese (Mario Revolori) and Chad (Jacob McCarthy), resolve to make up for lost time -- especially with girls -- and find themselves in a situation that's way over their heads. Audrey ( Sosie Bacon ), distressed that she's only wait-listed at her college "safety school," finds a job taking care of a child actress whose mom is problematic; for Audrey, that is life-changing.

Is It Any Good?

Some engaging performances and thoughtful storylines get lost in this mixed bag of overpopulated teen clichés, one-note characters, and silly situations. Teen viewers can decide for themselves whether or not the characters and the situations ring true. The most original relationship -- between an insecure teen and the little girl she cares for -- results in truly meaningful growth for both of them. When two socially stunted smart boys launch affairs with grown-up women, it's both funny and unsavory, just as it would have been if it were young girls being seduced by older men. The central romance between Griffin and Phoebe is predictable yet satisfying. Unfortunately, the "boy-loses-girl" segment raises the issue of kids dealing with parents' infidelity, a sensitive topic that is given little attention here. Too many stories, so little time.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the underage drinking in The Last Summer . It appears to be a given here that folks in their late teens consume alcohol at parties and other social events. Do you think that media (particularly films like this one) contribute to an overall casual attitude about teen drinking? Were there any consequences for the kids?

Think of some of the stereotypes in this movie: the airhead rich girl, the nerdy smart boys, Lilah's "stage mother." Do you think stereotyping is OK when it's meant to be funny? Why or why not? Do you think even comic stereotypes normalize such caricatures?

What is meant by the statement "I need you to not judge my version of success." Why is that a meaningful concept?

Movie Details

On DVD or streaming : May 3, 2019
Cast : KJ Apa , Maia Mitchell , Jacob Latimore
Director : William Bindley
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
Studio : Netflix
Genre : Comedy
Topics : Friendship , High School
Run time : 109 minutes
MPAA rating : NR
Last updated : February 4, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Review by Ellen Blake

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff is this month’s pick of the month from Andrea Peskind-Katz from GREAT THOUGHTS, GREAT READERS.

What The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach Is About

In 1941, with WWII underway, young Jewish Adelia Monteforte’s mother put her on a boat leaving fascist Italy for America to keep her safe. Adelia arrived alone, scared, and angry that her mother forced her to leave quickly with few personal belongings. Once in the United States, her aunt and uncle, whom she had never met, whisked her away to start her new life, first to the Jersey Shore for the summer, then to their year-round residence in Philadelphia.

While grateful for the loving kindness of her well-meaning but somewhat distant aunt and uncle, Adelia feels out of place with both them and her new environment. She is self-conscious about her accent and olive skin. When she meets the Connally’s, life changes. The Irish Catholic Connally family was large, warm, and accepting, welcoming Adelia with open arms and affectionately nicknaming her “Addie”. She becomes very close to the four boys and their parents,

Adelia falls in love with Charlie, the eldest of the Connally boys, and eventually finds out the feelings are mutual. Unfortunately, hopes for a future together are dashed when the U.S. enters the war in Europe and Charlie secretly enlists, followed by tragedy at the Connally house that splinters the family. A grief-stricken Addie flees to Washington and then London, but she and Charlie continually find each other. They become star-crossed lovers as their story continues. Eventually, Addie finds her way back home to the U.S. via a path she never imagined.

My Review of The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach is a beautifully written story of love and forgiveness, filled with loss and learning about life. Jenoff’s exquisitely written and well-researched portrayal of life during World War II is heart-wrenching as it details the ways fate and circumstances shape who we are and ultimately become. The richly developed characters felt very real to me, and the descriptive prose gave me a true sense of what living through the devastation of war was like.

We follow the story of young Adelia as she leaves Italy and attempts to navigate life in the U.S. Though she feels abandoned and insecure, she possesses an inner strength that helps her make a life for herself. A very strong-willed character, she makes decisions independently, which often seem poorly thought-out and executed. However, we learn valuable lessons from her along the way about the importance of family and following your heart. We also learn from her story that while you can run away to another location, you can’t run away from yourself or your past. Pam Jenoff is an incredible writer, and I’ve yet to read one of her books that I didn’t enjoy. The historical accuracy and wonderful writing style of her novels keep my interest throughout, and The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach was no exception. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. In addition, the surprise ending was completely unexpected.

I was provided a free advance reader copy from Park Row Books in exchange for my honest review. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

About the Author: Pam Jenoff

Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction, including the NYT bestsellers CODE NAME SAPPHIRE, THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS, THE ORPHAN’S TALE, THE DIPLOMAT’S WIFE, and THE WOMAN WITH THE BLUE STAR. Her novels are inspired by her experiences working as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon and as a diplomat for the State Department in Poland. These positions afforded Pam a unique opportunity to witness and participate in operations at the most senior levels of government and provided expertise regarding World War II and the Holocaust for Pam’s books.

Pam holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a master’s degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her juris doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked for several years as a labor and employment attorney both at a firm and in-house and she is presently on the faculty of Rutgers Law School.

Pam lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, three children, dog, cat, lizard, rabbit and bird. Learn more about Pam Jenoff.

Other Books by Pam Jenoff

The kommandant’s girl (2007).

Set during World War II, this novel tells the story of a young Jewish woman in Nazi-occupied Poland who becomes a spy for the resistance by posing as the wife of a German officer.

The Diplomat’s Wife (2008)

This novel is a sequel to “The Kommandant’s Girl” and follows the life of the protagonist after the war as she struggles with the aftermath and faces new challenges.

Almost Home (2012)

Set in post-World War II Europe, this novel explores the lives of displaced persons as they try to rebuild their lives and find a sense of home.

The Other Girl (2014)

This book revolves around the lives of two women who meet during the early days of World War II and form a deep bond, but their paths diverge as the war progresses.

The Orphan’s Tale (2017)

This novel is about a Jewish trapeze artist and a young Dutch woman who join forces to resist the Nazis by working in a traveling circus.

The Lost Girls of Paris (2019)

Inspired by true events, this novel uncovers the story of a group of women recruited as secret agents during World War II and the mystery surrounding their fate.

The Woman with the Blue Star (2021)

Set in Nazi-occupied Krakow, this novel follows the lives of two women from different backgrounds who form a deep connection as they try to survive and resist the oppression.

Code Name Sapphire (2023)

Inspired by true stories of courage and sacrifice, this book, set in occupied Europe in 1942 , explores the sacrifices and difficult choices faced by a woman to save those she loves.

About Andrea Peskind Katz from Great Thoughts, Great Readers:

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach

Writing Style

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Last Summer

With her creamy wardrobe of tasteful neutrals and dreamy mansion in the Paris suburbs, Léa Drucker ’s Anne has created an impenetrable exterior for herself in “ Last Summer .” At least, that’s how it looks from the outside.

But Anne doesn’t know she’s the main character in a Catherine Breillat movie, and so she – and we – are up for some upheaval. The provocative French auteur is back with her first feature in more than a decade, and at nearly 76, remains as curious and clear-eyed as ever in her depiction of women’s sexuality. There’s no judgment in her portrayal of Anne’s torrid, taboo affair; her downfall will occur regardless of what we think of her. Breillat’s approach is technically intimate yet tonally detached — languid as a summer’s day, sometimes unbearably so, and often uncomfortably warm.

When we first meet Anne, though, she’s coolly in command. A lawyer who works on behalf of teenage sexual assault victims and other young people in peril, she’s doing meaningful work that also means something to her. She’s compassionate yet firm as she questions her latest client, preparing this young woman for the interrogation she’ll surely endure in court. Anne is efficient and capable but also impossibly chic, and Drucker makes her wholly captivating from the start.

But that façade begins to crumble when her wealthy, older husband, Pierre ( Olivier Rabourdin ), announces that his 17-year-old son from his first marriage has screwed up again, and he’d like to have him move in with them for a while. Pierre and Anne already have adorable, adopted daughters who bring youthful cheer to the home. Inviting this young troublemaker is an unwelcome disruption.

Once the shameless (and frequently shirtless) Théo arrives, we can feel a bristling tension between him and Anne from the start. With his shaggy hair and lanky limbs, Samuel Kircher makes Théo the picture of teenage rebellion. And yet, we also catch glimpses of a goofy, gooey interior when he plays with his younger sisters, who worship him. In time, an unlikely conspiratorial bond forms between Anne and Théo, which turns to furtive scooter rides and afternoon drinks, which turns to more once Pierre conveniently leaves town on business. Breillat holds her camera in long takes, letting us linger in the moment as they smoke and drink in the backyard, their body language growing a little too familiar. The constant wine consumption serves as a lubricant over these long, lazy days.

So when Anne and Théo finally give in to their attraction, it simply feels like a given. Of course, this was going to happen. Breillat once again shoots these scenes with unbroken simplicity, holding the shot long after the act is over, giving us time to interpret the look on Anne’s face. This is unsexy sex, but it’s clearly transformative.

“Last Summer” is a remake of the 2019 Danish film “ Queen of Hearts ,” but Breillat makes the material her own in her signature, uncompromising manner. Once this incest-adjacent affair is on the verge of being exposed, the tension changes; the slow buildup of whether they’ll get caught shifts to the intensity of the potential damage to come. And yet, Breillat maintains a matter-of-fact tone throughout, allowing the power to come instead from Drucker’s masterful performance. We watch as she morphs seamlessly from showing the defenses of a caged animal to becoming the predator herself, gaslighting her accusers. The hypocrisy of Anne’s acts , given the kind of law she practices, is obvious, but Breillat is experienced enough to know she doesn’t need to spell that out for us. Quite the contrary – we see Anne harness all those expert interrogation techniques to turn the tables on anyone who dares come for her.

Oddly, you might find yourself rooting for her to get away with it all – and then realize you feel uncomfortable about the fact that you’re rooting for her to get away with it all. Such is the complicated sorcery of a Catherine Breillat film.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series “Ebert Presents At the Movies” opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

Léa Drucker as Anne
Samuel Kircher as Théo
Olivier Rabourdin as Pierre
Clotilde Courau as Mina
Serena Hu as Serena
Catherine Breillat

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Book Review – The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn

The Last Summer is narrated in the first person by Clarissa, daughter of the aristocratic Granville family of Deyning Park, a grand country estate in the South of England. It is structured in four parts/time periods, beginning in 1914 (the ‘last summer’ before the outbreak of WWI, when Clarissa is almost 17) and ending in 1930. This is a ‘genre-bending’ book (finally I get to use that term!) with elements of historical, romantic and commercial women’s fiction, but at its heart it is the love story between Clarissa and Tom Cuthbert, the housekeeper’s son, who is ambitious and well-educated but very far from her social equal. The class issue is interwoven with the trauma of the Great War and the way it affected and irrevocably changed British society at all levels, not sparing the aristocracy and Clarissa’s family with its three sons.

This is a very ambitious debut novel; if the enduring fascination with the era is the main attraction, it’s not without risks for a writer. When I mentioned The Last Summer to a friend who is a history graduate, she commented that it was a brave undertaking because the period is so well-documented by those writing at that time. However, due to a combination of meticulous research, great storytelling and writing, Judith Kinghorn pulls it off.

Clarissa tells her story looking back, in a captivating voice which overlays her naivety and feelings at the time with a subtle sense of retrospect. First person narration only succeeds if the reader is able to invest in the character and their worldview, which I did. The style is very romantic and feminine (more so than I usually like); at times a little flowery but in general, beautiful, with stunning visuals throughout. The author has a gift for evoking those years using all the senses, as here:

Like my mother’s orchids, I had been nurtured in a controlled environment [..] protected from cold snaps, clumsy fingers and bitter frosts. My three brothers, on the other hand had been allowed […] to develop unruly tendrils, to thrive beyond the confines of any hothouse, to spread their roots, unrestrained, through that English earth they belonged to. It was different for a girl.

I was absolutely transported into Clarissa’s world: its elegance, its limitations, the changes it underwent. My response to Tom was quite complicated – I went off him quite a lot at one point – but I did believe in the passion between them. The sex scenes were tastefully, and surprisingly, erotic. The only aspect of the story that didn’t work for me was the number of thwarted encounters; I think this risks trying the reader’s patience. Something that worked very well was the way in which experience changes Clarissa; I really enjoyed the decadence and glamour of the jazz age in London and the contrast with the private dilemmas she was facing.

There’s a lot of naming and ‘telling’ of emotion in this novel, but it felt genuine. The portrayal of the effects of war, not just the lives completely lost but those blighted by grief and the terrible aftermath faced by those who returned from the trenches, is very moving. It is integral to the characters’ experience and that’s why The Last Summer works, because the ‘love across the class divide’ theme and many of the plot elements here are all too familiar. My writing mentor believes there’s no such thing as a clichéd subject (just clichéd treatment ), and overall Judith Kinghorn does steer clear of cliché, by the quality of her prose and by adding twists and suspense to those storylines. There’s a cryptic exchange of unsigned letters which injects an ongoing mystery to the story and an extra frisson to the ending, a point many readers will be reluctant to reach.

It would make a wonderful film.

*POSTSCRIPT*

I’m currently compiling my Top 10 Summer Reads which will be posted in mid-May. Next week I’ll be writing a feature on Geographical Settings in Fiction.

About Isabel Costello

6 thoughts on “ book review – the last summer by judith kinghorn ”.

Hello Isabel, As usual, a very well-written, thoughtful book review on one of my favorite reads of the year thus far. As you mentioned, I thought that Judith Kinghorn created a captivating world full of lush description which engulfed me while I read. I was so caught up in the romance that I could barely put the book down, but then I was sad when I reached the last page, sad that the book was done. It is a familiar story line, but Kinghorn’s writing lifts it above the everyday.

Thanks Kristin! I remember recommending this book to you and I’m so glad I was right that you would love it. I think now it’s out in paperback it will sell like crazy.

Very tempting review…am way behind in my reading of your picks as have been sidetracked by other books.(that weren’t so hot..do I ever learn?) Ness.

Well Ness, you of all people know what a book snob I am! I only review books I’ve enjoyed and this was a particular favourite, I’m sure you would like it too.

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Last Summer Boys

Written by Bill Rivers Review by Bonnie DeMoss

It is 1968 in rural Pennsylvania when Jack Elliot overhears the bartenders in his town complaining that famous boys don’t have to go to war. He sets out on a mission to make his brother Pete famous and keep him out of Vietnam. Enlisting the help of his visiting cousin, Frankie, they begin to plan a mission, led by Pete, to find an old fighter jet crash site. Thus, Jack begins an adventurous summer with his brothers Pete and Will, and his cousin Frankie. Pete bravely says being drafted would be an honor, while Will is a big fan of Bobby Kennedy and follows him closely in the news. Then there is Frankie, the visiting “city-boy” cousin, out to prove he is strong enough to run with them.

In a volatile time when Martin Luther King has just been murdered and tensions are at a breaking point, we travel to Pennsylvania to watch Jack try to save his brother’s life. At the same time, bullies abound on all sides. There is a childhood bully, biker gangs, and the biggest bully of them all—the government, who is trying to take their land and flood it for a reservoir. As he enters this life-saving summer, we watch Jack’s coming-of-age story as his plans take an unexpected detour. We feel the aftermath of Bobby Kennedy’s murder through Jack’s grieving brother Will, and we see what happens when people join together to fight injustice. The characters are wonderfully complex and the story takes meaningful twists and turns, from adventure to mystery to small town politics. This well-woven novel will keep you captivated and immersed in the politics and family struggles going on at that time. I recommend this book to anyone interested in beautifully written coming-of-age stories or in Vietnam-era fiction set in the U.S.

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THE LAST BEST DAYS OF SUMMER

by Valerie Hobbs ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010

Lucy’s last-week-of-August visits to her grandmother Luz, a potter, at the lake have long been a highlight of her summers. Before going this year, though, she has spent her days with Megan, who’s obsessed with achieving middle-school popularity in the fall, and Eddie, a special-needs boy whom she has been tutoring and who will not be an asset in the popularity hunt. When she arrives at the lake, she sees that her grandmother is becoming forgetful and showing other signs of aging; this is when 12-year-old Lucy asks to be called Luz herself, and she begins to understand that independence and leaving childhood behind carry responsibilities. In a credibility-stretching plot twist, Eddie miraculously manages to make his way to the lake cottage to join her. By observing her grandmother’s way of coping with Eddie and her acceptance and enjoyment of his engaging personality, Lucy sees ways to manage her many upcoming changes. Like the pottery wheel’s demands for centering, the events will require Lucy to find her own center. Engaging and thoughtful, if a trifle overdetermined. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: May 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-374-34670-6

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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by Valerie Hobbs

by Valerie Hobbs & illustrated by Jennifer Thermes

WRECKING BALL

From the diary of a wimpy kid series , vol. 14.

by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019

Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.

The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.

When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Amulet/Abrams

Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019

GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

CHARLOTTE'S WEB

by E.B. White illustrated by Garth Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1952

The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...

A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.

Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952

ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

More by E.B. White

by E.B. White & illustrated by Maggie Kneen

by E.B. White illustrated by Fred Marcellino

by E.B. White illustrated by Garth Williams

In Memoriam: George Nicholson, 1937-2015

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I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER Legacy Sequel Loses Star Camila Mendes To MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

Following the recent news that Camila Mendes is set to play Teela in the Masters of the Universe movie, we're hearing that the actress has been forced to part ways with I Know What You Did Last Summer ...

Riverdale alum Camila Mendes has parted ways with Sony Pictures' upcoming reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer .

According to Deadline, the actress simply could not make the production dates work after recently signing on to play the female lead in Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films' Masters of the Universe movie, in which she'll play Teela.

As previously reported, Mendes joins Nicholas Galitzine ( Purple Hearts, Red, White & Royal Blue, The Idea of You ) as Prince Adam/He-Man in the live-action adaptation of the classic animated series.

Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers and Jonah Hauer-King are still on board for supporting roles in IKWYDLS, but we have no idea how losing its lead will impact the production.

We first learned that Sony was planning to develop a legacy sequel to the '90s slasher last year, with stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in negotiations to reprise their respective roles as Julie James and Ray Bronson. Updates have been few and far between since, and Prinze Jr. actually called the report into question shortly after, claiming that he hadn't heard anything and wasn't in talks to return.

There's a chance the Scooby-Doo actor simply wasn't aware that the story was out there at the time and was staying tight-lipped about his potential return, but either way, Love Hewitt was a little more forthcoming in a recent interview - although she also stopped short of confirming her involvement with the horror revival while chatting on the latest episode of the Inside of You podcast.

When host Michael Rosenbaum asked Hewitt if she’d make an appearance in a new I Know What You Did Last Summer film, she excitedly responded that she’d “100%” be interested. “I loved making those movies. I’d do it. For sure,” she added.

Of course, I Know What You Did Last Summer already has a couple of sequels in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer , but neither was as successful as the first, so it's hardly surprising that Sony would be taking a page out of the new Halloween trilogy's play book and ignoring everything that came after the original.

Prime Video also released a small-screen spin-off in 2021, but the show was cancelled after a single season.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson ( Do Revenge, Someone Great ) has signed on to direct the new movie, with Leah McKendrick ( Deviant Love; M.F.A. ) penning the script, which is based on an original sequel idea she developed with Robinson.

How do feel about a legacy sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer ? Be sure to drop us a comment down below.

"A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening letter telling her that their crime was seen. While pursuing who he thinks is responsible for the letter, Barry (Ryan Phillippe) is run over by a man with a meat hook. The bloodletting only increases from there, as the killer with the hook continues to stalk Julie, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.)."

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In the courtyard where Hersh Goldberg-Polin danced on Oct. 6, grief and anger reign after his death

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Shira Ben-Sasson, a founder of the Hakhel synagogue in Jerusalem, lights a candle in memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

By Deborah Danan September 1, 2024

( JTA ) — JERUSALEM — Three hundred and thirty-two days after Hersh Goldberg-Polin danced in the courtyard next to his Jerusalem synagogue on the holiday of Simchat Torah, more than a thousand people gathered there in grief and prayer to mourn his murder by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

During the Sunday night vigil, the courtyard railings were lined with oversized yellow ribbons to symbolize advocacy for the hostages, Hapoel Jerusalem soccer flags — the 23-year-old’s favorite team — and posters that read, “We love you, stay strong, survive,” a mantra coined by his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin.

Just hours earlier, one of the posters had been hanging over the balcony of the home of Shira Ben-Sasson, a leader of Hakhel, the Goldberg-Polins’ egalitarian congregation in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem.

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“We were sure we would take it down when he came home,” Ben Sasson said.

The community wanted to unite while respecting the Goldberg-Polins’ desire for privacy, she said, prompting them to organize the prayer gathering.

“But it’s like a Band-Aid or giving first aid, it’s what you do in an emergency. I don’t know how we go on after this,” she said.

She added that the community, which has a large contingent of English-speaking immigrants, was not prepared for the High Holidays, which begin in about a month. She said, “Seeing his empty seat is hard.”

For Ben-Sasson, who wore a T-shirt bearing the Talmudic dictum “There is no greater mitzvah than the redeeming of captives,” the tragedy is especially painful because, she said, it could have been avoided with a ceasefire agreement that freed hostages.

“Hersh was alive 48 hours ago. We think a deal could have saved him. There is no military solution to this,” she said.

That feeling of bereavement, often mixed with betrayal, pervaded gatherings across Israel on Sunday, as the country struggled with the news that six hostages who may have been freed in an agreement were now dead as negotiations continue to stall. Speakers at protests in Tel Aviv blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who himself apologized for not getting the hostages out alive but blamed Hamas for obstructing a deal. The country’s labor union, the Histadrut, has called a national strike on Monday to demand a deal.

Some at the Jerusalem gathering, including the relative of another former hostage, said Netanyahu had chosen defeating Hamas over freeing the captives.

Josef Avi Yair Engel, whose grandson Ofir was released from Hamas captivity in November during that month’s ceasefire deal, expressed shock over Hersh’s murder but said he was not surprised, given the wartime policies of Netanyahu’s government.

“We knew months ago this was going to happen. Bibi’s formula, to dismantle Hamas and return the hostages, wasn’t logical. It’s an either/or situation,” Engel said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “He’s tearing the country apart. I’m afraid that in the coming months there won’t be a state at all.”

Engel said he felt a close bond with Hersh’s father Jon Polin, not only because of their joint activism in the hostage families’ tent outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, but also because of their shared identity as Jerusalemites.

“There aren’t many of us in the hostage circle,” he said. “We’re like family.”

Sarah Mann, who did not know the family personally, said the weekend’s tragedy reminded her of Oct. 7.

“This day has sparks of the seventh, which created numbness and an inability to talk. Just complete shock,” she said.

Part of the reason for that, Mann said, was Rachel, who she described as a “force of faith.” Goldberg-Polin’s mother emerged as the most prominent advocate for the hostages globally and became a symbol in her own right as she crisscrossed the world calling for her son’s freedom.

“Millions of people around the world held onto her. Once that was cut, people’s ability to hold onto faith was knocked out today. But even though this has shattered us, we need to keep holding onto God,” Mann said.

For Susi Döring Preston, the day called to mind was not Oct. 7 but Yom Kippur, and its communal solemnity.

She said she usually steers clear of similar war-related events because they are too overwhelming for her.

“Before I avoided stuff like this because I guess I still had hope. But now is the time to just give in to needing to be around people because you can’t hold your own self up any more,” she said, tears rolling down her face. “You need to feel the humanity and hang onto that.”

Like so many others, Döring Preston paid tribute to the Goldberg-Polins’ tireless activism. “They needed everyone else’s strength but we drew so much strength from them and their efforts, “she said. “You felt it could change the outcome. But war is more evil than good. I think that’s the crushing thing. You can do everything right, but the outcome is still devastating.”

Guy Gordon, a member of Hakhel who moved to Israel from Dublin, Ireland, in the mid-1990s, said the efforts towards ensuring Hersh’s safe return have been an anchor for the community during the war.

“It gave us something to hope for, and pray for and to demonstrate for,” he said. “We had no choice but to be unreasonably optimistic. Tragically it transpired that he survived until the very end.”

Gordon, like many others in the crowd, wore a piece of duct tape marked with the number of days since Oct. 7 — a gesture initiated by Goldberg-Polin’s mother. Unlike on previous days, though, his tape also featured a broken red heart beside the number.

Nadia Levene, a family friend, also reflected on the improbability of Hersh’s survival.

“He did exactly what his parents begged him to do. He was strong. He did survive. And look what happened,” Levene said.

She hailed Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s “unwavering strength and belief in God,” adding, “There were times I lost faith. I suppose I was angry with God. But she just kept inspiring us all to pray, pray, pray.”

Jerusalem resident Leah Silver rejected politicizing the hostages’ deaths.

“Everything turns political so quickly. I came here because I felt that before all the protests, we need to just mourn for a moment and to pray. And show respect for each other,” she said. “We’ve become confused about who the enemy is. It’s very sad.”

But not everyone at the gathering joined in to sing Israel’s national anthem at the closing of the prayer gathering.

“I’m sorry, I can’t sing ‘Hatikvah,’” Reza Green, a Baka resident who did not know the Goldberg-Polins personally, said. “I’m too angry. We shouldn’t be here.”

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State Sen. Mark Schoesler arrested on suspicion of DUI

Washington state Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, was arrested Saturday when he was accused of driving drunk after attending the Ritzville Rodeo.

Around 9:30 p.m. , another rodeo attendee called police to report the longtime lawmaker was involved in a suspected DUI collision, according to court records. The witness reported Schoesler, 67, had backed his car into a parked vehicle twice before trying to leave the fairgrounds parking lot.

A police officer arrived to the scene at the Wheat Land Fairgrounds to find Schoesler sitting behind the wheel in his silver Chevy pickup showing “obvious signs of intoxication.”

The officer took Schoesler to the Adams County Jail to administer field sobriety and blood-alcohol tests. He reportedly failed both, with a blood-alcohol content of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. Law enforcement told the Cheney Free Press that Schoesler was “100% cooperative” with the tests.

Schoesler was reportedly arrested with a citation and released into the custody of a family member later that night on a promise to appear for his court date.

His citation was referred to Adams County District Court. His first court date is scheduled for Sept. 12.

Schoesler has served in the Washington Legislature since 1992. A former senate Republican leader, the lawmaker is a lifelong farmer who represents the 9th Legislative District, spanning much of Eastern Washington, including parts of Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Lincoln, south Spokane and Whitman counties. Schoesler previously served in the state House of Representatives for 12 years before he was elected to the state Senate.

The state senator did not respond Wednesday to a Spokesman-Review reporter’s request for comment. State senate Republican Party leadership did not respond Wednesday to the reporter’s request for comment. Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick did not respond to a request for an interview.

Home to ‘The Best Care in Washington'

Matt Durham sees himself as lucky.

IMAGES

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The Last Summer (Wild Isle, #1) by Karen Swan
Karen Swan. 4.16. 4,724 ratings447 reviews. Wild-spirited Effie Gillies has lived all her life on the small island of St Kilda but when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant. For one glorious week she guides the handsome young visitor around the isle, falling in love for the first time ...
Book Review: The Last Summer by Karen Swan
Review: Enthralling, mysterious, and romantic! The Last Summer is an absorbing tale that sweeps you away to 1930 and into the life of Effie Gillies, an eighteen-year-old girl who, along with her family and closest friends, is one of thirty-six inhabitants of the isolated St. Kilda archipelago who is content with her isolated existence, living a simple life amongst the birds and the cliffs ...
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Yes, that is commitment - and I'm ready for it. All 400 pages of it, which also makes "The Last Summer" the longest book I've read this year to date. I will check my facts on that one. Karen Swan's descriptive writing takes you right to the period (Scotland in the 1930s). Her attention to detail speaks of meticulous research and a ...
The Last Summer: A wild, romantic tale of opposites attract . . . (The
The Last Summer is the first book in her five-book historical series called The Wild Isle Girls, set around the dramatic evacuation of the Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930. It was partly inspired by Karen's Scottish roots: her father's family came from Skye, moving to Fort William where Karen was christened and where many of ...
The Last Summer by Karen Swan
The Last Summer is another wonderful novel from the highly popular author that will pull at the heartstrings while taking the reader on a suspenseful ride over rugged land, and unpredictable sea, until the very end. ISBN: 9781529084375. The Last Summer is available in paperback and e-book.
The Last Summer by Karen Swan
The Last Summer is the first book in the Wild Isle series by Sunday Times bestseller Karen Swan, inspired by the true history of St Kilda and its small island community. It is followed by The Stolen Hours. 'The most exciting, enchanting and evocative story of forbidden love I've ever read.
Member Reviews
The Last Summer by Karen Swan, is set on the Scottish island of St. Kilda. The residents of St. Kilda are evacuated in 1930 and the residents are brought to the mainland to begin new and very different lives. Effie Gillies, is one of the main characters of the book, an 18 year old who is a skilled climber and very knowledgeable about local bird ...
The Last Summer: A wild, romantic tale of opposites attract
Summer 1930 on St Kilda - a wild, remote Scottish island.Two strangers from drastically different worlds meet . . .Eighteen year old Effie Gillies has lived all her life on St Kilda; she's the best climber on the island, as skilled and brave as any of the men. But in matters of the heart, she's an innocent, and when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction ...
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The Last Summer: The Wild Isle. $17.99. (3,737) In Stock. A GLOBE AND MAIL AND TORONTO STAR BESTSELLER. An epic, sweeping historical novel from Canadian bestseller Karen Swan, The Last Summer is set on the Scottish island of St Kilda, and is the first novel in a brand-new series. When the residents of St Kilda ask to be evacuated from their ...
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The Last Summer (1) Hardcover - August 1, 2022. by Karen Swan (Author) 4.4 3,698 ratings. Book 1 of 4: The Wild Isle. See all formats and editions. Wild-spirited Effie Gillies has lived all her life on the small island of St Kilda but when Lord Sholto, heir to the Earl of Dumfries, visits, the attraction between them is instant.
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Our review: Parents say ( 3 ): Kids say ( 11 ): Some engaging performances and thoughtful storylines get lost in this mixed bag of overpopulated teen clichés, one-note characters, and silly situations. Teen viewers can decide for themselves whether or not the characters and the situations ring true.
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This is unsexy sex, but it's clearly transformative. "Last Summer" is a remake of the 2019 Danish film " Queen of Hearts," but Breillat makes the material her own in her signature, uncompromising manner. Once this incest-adjacent affair is on the verge of being exposed, the tension changes; the slow buildup of whether they'll get ...
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